Women are attracted to men in red, research finds. The effect is replicated across cultures. In the United States, England, Germany and China, women found men more appealing when they were either pictured wearing red or framed in red, compared with other colors. The finding is reported in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, published by the American Psychological Association.

Red is a symbol of courage and sacrifice, of sin and sexuality, of power and passion – and now new research demonstrates that the color red makes men more alluring to women.

“Red is typically thought of as a sexy color for women only,” said Andrew Elliot, PhD, of the University of Rochester and University of Munich. “Our findings suggest that the link between red and sex also applies to men.”

In several experiments, the shirt of the man in the photographs was digitally colored either red or another color. Participants rated the pictured man’s status and attractiveness, and reported on their willingness to date, kiss, and engage in other sexual activity with the person. (Faces above and below are blurred for privacy.) (Credit: University of Rochester)

Simply wearing the color red or being bordered by the rosy hue makes a man more attractive and sexually desirable to women, according to a series of studies by researchers at the University of Rochester and other institutions. And women are unaware of this arousing effect.

“When women see red it triggers something deep and probably biologically engrained,” explains Elliot. “We say in our culture that men act like animals in the sexual realm. It looks like women may be acting like animals as well in the same sort of way.”

Read more at: sciencedaily.com